Neuropsychiatry of complex visual hallucinations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the phenomenology and pathophysiology of complex visual hallucinations (CVH) in various organic states, in particular Charles Bonnet syndrome and peduncular hallucinosis. METHOD: Three cases of CVH in the setting of pontine infarction, thalamic infarction and temporoparietal epileptiform activity are presented and the available psychiatric, neurological and biological literature on the structures of the central nervous system involved in producing hallucinatory states is reviewed. RESULTS: Complex visual hallucinations can arise from a variety of processes involving the retinogeniculocalcarine tract, or ascending brainstem modulatory structures. The cortical activity r..